Abstract

Introduction-Tuberculosis continues to be a major health problem in India even after two government run program for its control and eradication. The development of resistant to drugs is also making the scenario poor. The tuberculosis is causing stress in patient specially infected by its drug resistant form that is leading to development of psychiatric illness. These psychiatric disorders are causing great challenge in the management of multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR- TB). The Anxiety disorders and psychosis developed in these patients affect their quality of life, as well as physicians’ attitudes toward MDR-TB therapy. Successful control is very crucial for favorable outcome, and for overall well-being of patient. A great chunk of patient suffering from MDR Tuberculosis developed significant stress, subclinical depression and anxiety symptoms at sub syndrome level which do not came to notice of patient as well as physician. All above reason led to analysis of patterns of psychiatric illnesses in the patients diagnosed with MDR tuberculosis in a tertiary care hospital of north India. Methodology- Hundred patients of MDR TB visiting Tuberculosis unit OPD were undergo a detail psychiatric evaluation by a consultant psychiatrist and diagnoses were considered as per ICD-10 DCR criteria. Hamilton Depression rating scale (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating scale (HAM-A) and Perceived Stress scale (PSS) were applied to assess Depressive symptom, anxiety symptoms and perception of stress respectively. The statistical analyses were conducted using Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS version 16) software. The statistical significance was defined at P < 0.05. Results-Most common psychiatric diagnosis in our study was Depressive disorder (30%), Anxiety disorders (20%), Psychotic Disorders 7% and Stress 15%. Conclusion- A significant level of psychological stress and psychiatric comorbidity was found to be associated with MDR-TB in patients. It is bringing major social and financial challenges to patient and their families.

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